Let me put it straight away to you, visit this resort only if you have the budget to do so, because the cost of stay and food in this place is on a very stepper side. The cost of activities in this resort is much more steeper. Kakslauttanen resort is spread in many hectares of area and the entire place is taken up by the resort. It is more of a theme park rather than a resort is what I feel. The two villages in which the resort is divided is the East Village and the West Village. The east village is the older one and the west village is a comparatively newer village and is much bigger, with bigger restaurant and areas. The resort provides transfers from East Village to West Village to Activities spot etc. In my opinion although Aurora Borealis can be seen from both the villages, the better view could be from West village due to its location and larger area. But beware that the premise has much light pollution so for better view one needs to find dark locations inside the premise. Mindwell that you may see Aurora Borealis in stays ahead in Ivalo and Inari as well, which may have better probability on a not so clear sky day as well. The resort is very beautifully spread out with large and small cabins, Igloos with and without toilet and sauna, and the Kelo glass igloos. There are about >80 of these Kelo glass Igloos, so you may now understand the massiveness of this place. The resort is very beautiful and the cabins are really cute and beautiful and looks very luxurious from inside, it gives the lapish homes vibrancy and experience. I stayed in the Large Cabin since the cost of Keloglass Igloos were very steep. The costings of the large cabins are also steep, and the attraction of Kelo Glass Igloos are only to have a view of Northern lights from the comfort of your cabin which may be suitable for couples but otherwise walking out into the resort premise and viewing it under the cold starry sky is more beautiful and spectacular. All the rooms are equipped with Northern Lights alarm and it buzz when there are sightings. We managed to see a grand spectacle of the Northern lights on one of the nights when the conditions were very conducive and skies completely clear. It continued for an hr. You can see it from the premise as well, we saw it during our Aurora Hunting expedition. The hotel seems to be on the lower end of staffing in terms of managing the customers. As far as the warmth and reception of the staff of the resort goes you will find the staff behavior and interaction to be at the extreme end of the spectrum ie: A group of staff are very cordial, respectful, mannerly, prompt, helpful, Cheerful, always with a smile. On the other end of the spectrum you would find a group of staff who behave unwelcoming, not helpful, ignorant, sarcastic and you may even get to feel that they have a racial overtone. The good ones in the staff balance out the bad ones, thanks to the good ones in their premise, they are very good. The bad ones at the front desk and in the activities would definitely need better trainings and re-skilling on client interactions because they face people from around the world and they represent the good will of the establishment. PS: You would see lots of Indians coming into the resort and I believe 70% of the guest are Asians. So if you are an Indian and get bored by again being with your fellow citizens and want to explore something else then you may rethink and move ahead much deeper into the Artic. For other nationalities: If you are looking at something more secluded, less noisy while having food, spending time in restaurant, calmer place, remote deep into the lap lands, more adventurous etc then you should think of going much ahead into Ivalo and Inari. Be prepared for the cold if you visit in winters, research and read well about clothing, gears, eye protections etc. The best way to visit Lapland and enjoy the beauty of the place amidst bone chilling and hypothermic cold is to layer up with good quality cold wears, the temperature will reach close to -30 degree Celcius.
Advantages:
1. Very Beautiful resort with great rooms and amenities
2. Strategically placed in Kakslauttanen
3. Children get lots of space to play and roam around.
4. There are many Nordic activities offered by the establishment, Snow mobil, Night Aurora Hunting, Husky rides etc. Snow mobil can be a great experience but depends on which instructor you are assigned to, this makes all the difference.
5. The restaurant of the resort is very good. I stayed in the west village which has a pretty big one. The staff in the restaurant are very well mannered, cordial, jovial, accommodating, and cheerful. They work around the clock but don't show any sign of frustration or stress to the customers and interact very professionally.
6. Food is good, I wont say that it is out of the world and very good. Probably because I have had better food at other stays before. Their breakfast spread is splendid and lot of options to choose from. Dinner is a set menu if its included in your package and every member can order an entire course from starters, soup,main course, and desert, BUT, the menu is very limited, its the resorts way of revenue generation through pax serving. They have few Indian food as well in the Menu if you like Indian food and have deployed an Indian Chef in their kitchen.
7. They have many assortment of beers, and also offer in-house brewed variety which I found to be good.
8. Activities are good and managed well. Husky safari and Nordic Skiing is a must if you have children because you will love it. They provide transfers to the activities spot and back. If you want to learn Nordic Skiing, I suggest you definitely do it and a very good tutor at this activity will teach you well in the time allotted.
Disadvantages:
1. As I said the staff is a mix bag of people and you will get to experience both worlds of behaviors.
2. The location of resort is 40 kms behind Ivalo, so during hazy skies or clouds I wished I had moved a bit more north near Ivalo to see the Northern Lights.
3. The quality of food is good. The quantity of the food is abysmally less, and you may end up ordering from the Ala carte as well paying extra charges if you are famished.
4. The meals have timings which you have to adhere too, and once you reach late, due to possibly being in activities during day time or night, you will have to skip the meal, because all that you will get is small burgers,cookies or chips at the canteen desk or content yourself with drinking beer.
5. The activities cost are sky steep and the cost keeps linearly increasing as you book these. These activities are part of the resorts primary revenue cycle. These activities can make you less by many hundreds of Euro or more depending on the kind and number of activities you book. I felt activities such as snowmobiling in Rovaniemi are way cheap.
6. The accommodation cost of the resort per day as I mentioned is on a very steep side and you may find better priced stay if you move ahead towards Ivalo ahead of Kakslauttanen. What you pay for in the resort can be justified with an experience cost. The cost may have large swings depending on the season and foot fall, hence you may have to plan accordingly and budget it out.
7. The winter gears given for the activities is good but the hand gloves begs for more and is very clumpsy and not good enough for the bone chilling winter especially at nights.
8. The food included accommodation menu has limited choices and it don't give you much leverages.
9. There are no cafes or shops outside the resort premises, so please get everything that you need with you.
10. They charge a holding charge of 300 Euro at the time of check in which I believe is tad too much and the hotel is making money through interests from bank on such hefty holding charges. I have travelled across resorts globally and many don’t have such charges and those who have keep it nominal. Also the money returns back to your account in a maximum time of 14 working days depending on the bank.
All in all this is a beautifully architected resort, with great views. A stay with an experience, which you pay for the experience and if you have the budget to pay for it.
IN